Spanish Reflexive Verbs: List, Conjugation and Practice

Spanish reflexive verbs (verbos reflexivos) are verbs that come with the pronoun se at the end of the infinitive: levantarse, lavarse, llamarse. Most of the time the action goes back to the person doing it: me lavo means I wash myself.

English usually drops the "myself", so the translation often looks like a plain verb or a verb with get: vestirse - to get dressed, casarse - to get married, irse - to leave. That is why the pronoun is easy to forget, and why it matters: me voy (I'm leaving) and voy (I'm going) are not the same.

On this page:

• how to conjugate reflexive verbs: the pronouns me, te, se and tables by tense;
• a quick quiz: with or without se;
• a list of 69 Spanish reflexive verbs by topic, with meanings and forms;
• where the pronoun goes: before or after the verb;
• types of reflexive verbs and verbs that change meaning with se.

How to conjugate reflexive verbs in Spanish

Conjugate the verb as usual and put the reflexive pronoun for the same person in front of it:

Stem changes stay the same: despertarse → me despierto, acostarse → me acuesto, vestirse → me visto. In compound tenses the pronoun goes before haber: me he levantado. Pick a model verb to see it in five key tenses:

Practice: with or without se?

For each sentence, decide whether the verb needs se. You will see a short explanation after each answer.

Spanish reflexive verbs list (69)

The most useful reflexive verbs in Spanish, grouped by topic. Use the filter to keep one topic, or switch on "Hide translations" to turn the list into flashcards. When the base verb has its own page, the verb links to its full conjugation: llamarse → llamar.

Where does the reflexive pronoun go?

The pronoun changes with the person even in the infinitive: quiero ducharme (I want to take a shower), ¿quieres ducharte? (do you want to...). A classic mistake is keeping the dictionary se: quiero ducharse is wrong.

When the pronoun is attached, the stress stays on the same syllable, so a written accent often appears: levanta → levántate, duchando → duchándome. Here are all the commands of levantarse:

Note the short forms: nosotros drops the -s before nos (levantemos + nos → levantémonos), and vosotros drops the -d before os (levantad + os → levantaos). The exception is irse: idos (the RAE also accepts iros). More on this: affirmative commands, negative commands and the Spanish gerund.

Types of reflexive verbs

Se does several jobs in Spanish. To start with, these five cases cover almost everything:

1. Action on yourself. Me lavo, te vistes, se afeita. Without se, the action goes to someone or something else: lavo el coche (I wash the car), visto a mi hija (I dress my daughter).
2. Body parts and clothes. Spanish says "I wash myself the hands", not "I wash my hands": me lavo las manos, me pongo el abrigo. Using mis manos here sounds unnatural.
3. Feelings. With se, the subject feels the emotion: me aburro (I get bored), se preocupa (she worries). Without se, the subject causes it in someone else: aburre a todos (he bores everyone).
4. Each other. In the plural, se can mean "each other": nos vemos mañana (see you tomorrow), se quieren (they love each other).
5. Always with se. A few verbs are practically never used without the pronoun: quejarse (to complain), atreverse (to dare), arrepentirse (to regret). They are marked in the list.

Verbs that change meaning with se

The trickiest group: with and without se they are really two different words.

And a word on me gusta: it is not reflexive. Here me means "to me", and gustar agrees with the thing you like: me gustan los libros. The third person shows the difference: se lava (he washes himself) but le gusta (he likes it).

How to learn Spanish reflexive verbs

1. Learn the verb with se and its preposition. Not just acordar but acordarse de; not casar but casarse con.
2. Start with your daily routine. Describe your day out loud: me despierto, me levanto, me ducho, me visto... It is the most common topic where reflexive verbs come up.
3. Ask who receives the action. Yourself - use se; someone else - no se: me despierto, but despierto a mi hijo.

Rules for each tense: Present, Preterite (Indefinido) and Present perfect. Related: the 100 most common Spanish verbs.